Councilwoman Michele Massey, who ended the election Tuesday night about 1,500 votes behind challenger Diane Coleman, said she has not given up. Ana Ferrer/The Jersey Journal

Not all of the ballots have been counted in Jersey City’s special election to find a Ward F City Council member, but the incumbent in the race has all but conceded defeat.

Councilwoman Michele Massey, who ended Tuesday night about 1,500 votes behind challenger Diane Coleman, said yesterday she has not given up. But Massey added that Coleman’s strong finish will likely hold up.

“It looks like Coleman has it,” she said.

With nearly 97 percent of precincts reporting, Coleman, head of local nonprofit Building an Empire, leads the race with 3,453 votes to Massey’s 1,933. The remaining candidates, Tyrone Ballon and Debbie Walker, had fewer than 600 votes each.

The remaining ballots mail-ins, emails and provisionals have yet to be counted. But a political observer with knowledge of local elections said it is doubtful Massey could find enough ballots to overcome Coleman’s lead.

Massey said yesterday she hasn’t been updated on the status of the remaining ballots.

“To be honest with you, because of this weather, I’m trying to check on people, see if they’re OK,” she said. “I’ve been back and forth, trying to get through with the OEM office and still doing the job.”

Massey was appointed last December to fill a vacancy left on the council when longtime Ward F council member Viola Richardson won election as councilwoman at large. If Coleman’s apparent victory holds, she will fill out the rest of Richardson’s Ward F term, which ends next June.

Massey’s appointment would end with the certification of her successor’s victory.

A Massey loss would be a blow to Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who backed Massey while his political rival, Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, supported Coleman. Last year’s special election to fill two at-large vacancies on the council led to losses for two other Healy-backed candidates.